• Virtual Behavioral Health Program to Be Scaled Across CHS-Affiliated Physician Practices

FRANKLIN, Tenn. / Sep 07, 2023 / Business Wire / Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CYH) and population health management company, Mindoula, announced plans today to implement an innovative program that integrates virtual behavioral health services into the primary care setting. The program, designed to help patients who are experiencing mental health concerns such as anxiety and depression, includes initial behavioral health assessments, care planning, systematic follow-up via digital and human interactions, and weekly review of the treatment plan. Community Health Systems will deploy Mindoula’s Collaborative Care program on a large scale across its national footprint to approximately 700 primary care providers, enhancing access to behavioral health care for thousands of patients.

Mental health disorders affect one of five Americans and the majority of those affected will never seek help. Older adults are at increased risk of depression as the condition is more common in people who also have other illnesses such as heart disease or cancer or whose function becomes limited. While depression is serious, it often gets better with counseling, medicine or other forms of treatment.

“By integrating behavioral care with primary care, we can help our providers address the whole health of their patients,” said Lynn Simon, M.D., President, Healthcare Innovation and Chief Medical Officer of Community Health Systems. “Left untreated, anxiety and depression can have a negative impact on patients’ physical health and overall quality of life. Our partnership with Mindoula will help ensure mental health care is readily available for our patients. It will also help address the behavioral health provider shortage by enhancing virtual access to these critical services.”

The Mindoula program leverages clinically-validated patient assessments to identify behavioral health needs and track changes in those needs over time, providing physicians with actionable intelligence to better manage patients with behavioral health needs. Patients engage with caregivers via the HIPAA-compliant Mindoula Messenger engagement app, text messaging for medication reminders and other treatments, secure two-way video, phone and encrypted email.

“A sustainable future for our healthcare systems relies on our ability to deploy innovative solutions that leverage both technology and human interactions to help patients access the clinical resources they need and that also support our clinicians in their practice of medicine,” said Tim Hingtgen, Chief Executive Officer of Community Health Systems. “At Community Health Systems, we are driven by a shared purpose to help people get well and live healthy. Providing access to mental health services for those who need them is an essential part of meeting this objective.”

The collaborative care services model has been shown to double the effectiveness of depression care, improve physical wellbeing, and significantly reduce health care costs.

“Collaborative Care Management (CoCM) is an evidence-based integrated care approach that leads to significantly better clinical outcomes, improved functioning, and greater patient and provider satisfaction compared to usual care. In addition, according to a Milliman study, $38 to $68 billion could be saved across the nation each year through effective integration of mental health care with other types of medical care,” said Dr. Glenda Wrenn, Chief Clinical Strategy Officer of Mindoula Health. “We are thrilled to bring our nationwide scale and expertise in Collaborative Care to our partnership with Community Health Systems by supporting their affiliated providers with resources to help effectively treat patients.”

About Community Health Systems, Inc.

Community Health Systems, Inc. is one of the nation’s largest healthcare companies. The Company's affiliates are leading providers of healthcare services, developing and operating healthcare delivery systems in 43 distinct markets across 15 states. CHS subsidiaries own or lease 76 affiliated hospitals with approximately 13,000 beds and operate more than 1,000 sites of care, including physician practices, urgent care centers, freestanding emergency departments, occupational medicine clinics, imaging centers, cancer centers and ambulatory surgery centers. Shares in Community Health Systems, Inc. are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CYH.” The Company’s headquarters are located in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb south of Nashville. More information about the Company can be found on its website at www.chs.net.

About Mindoula

Mindoula is a next generation population health management company that scales the human connection through technology in addressing mind, body, and life challenges. It identifies, engages, and serves populations who might otherwise be left behind, and delivers tech-enabled, team-based, 24/7 support and care across the continuum of care. Mindoula’s adaptive data science approach, multi-platform technology stack, and virtual + in-person care extension teams enable its enterprise partners to achieve improved outcomes and significantly reduced costs by integrating behavioral, medical, and social determinants of health. Headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, Mindoula is currently operating in Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, North Carolina, Nevada, Louisiana, West Virginia, California, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Washington, Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Delaware, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Minnesota, and Florida, with continued national expansion plans to meet the growing need for integrated whole person care. More information about Mindoula can be found at https://mindoula.com/